Author
Topic: Added culture before cooling to 86, can I add culture again when cooled? (Read 1965 times)

Hello, I am interested in what the results might be of adding culture to milk directly after heat treating and before cooling to 86. I did it by mistake, then cooled the milk to 86 and added the culture again. The feta looks good so far, but I am wondering what the results in smell, taste, shelf life might be if the cheese has the killed culture and the second round of culture in it too. I decided not to chuck it yet, but am interested in how this should affect its chemistry and why. THANKS!

Mesophillic bacteria like medium temperatures and are killed above 104F.Thermophillic like higher temperatures up to around 130-135F.

You didn't say what temperatures were involved, but If you added culture when your milk was around say 170F, then you killed both types. If you killed the starter, you did the right thing by adding more. Since you pretty much killed the bacteria before they could begin multiplying, the original bacteria would have very little effect on the finished cheese.

If you had NOT added more starter, then undesirable bacteria would have taken over.

Thanks for your response! I was using mesophilic culture and the temp was around 146 when I added the culture the first time like a nimwit. (I've made feta a million times and never made this mistake, but I got distracted and forgot that I had not cooled it after heat treating.) Then I cooled it to 86 and added culture again. I was almost embarrassed to ask what affect the first culture I killed at a high temp might have on the cheese, but I was too curious not to find out. Thanks for you feedback that it should be inconsequential.

Since you were so helpful, here is another question based on a temperature mistake, this week everything has gone wrong, so I am trying to learn from my mistakes. I heat treat my milk- 145-150 for half an hour. This time the pasteurizer buzzed but I missed it for a bit, so it went up to 168-169 before I caught it. I still held it at temp for half an hour out of habit, (I know, 15 seconds would have done it.) it was down to 158 by the end of half hour before I cooled it and added culture and rennet (I'm making chevre). The milk smelled a bit like custard, but looked the same as always. So if the curd actually forms by morning is it safe to use or should I toss it?